Joey Taranto News

Time really does fly, especially when you're having fun. And, let's be honest, we have a lot of fun at Broadway Sessions. So much so that nine years has flown by ever so quickly. And what better way to celebrate nine years of hurt special brand of musical theatre mania than with an "Inappropriate" Anniversary Show. We welcomed back a roster of Broadway Sessions favorites to share wildly inappropriate tunes and memories. The results were memorable, well, for most of our audience at least ;)

BROADWAY SESSIONS is described as an evening of musical performances, games and open mic featuring a new Broadway guest each week.

For those who were lucky enough to land a golden ticket last night, the party continued after the curtain down for opening night of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The new Broadway musical celebrated a Wonkafied opening at Pier 60 and BroadwayWorld is taking you inside the festivities below!

Just last night, Cyndi Lauper was on hand to welcome the audience to TDF's one-night-only concert fundraiser, TDF HONORS Kinky Boots. The show featured the entire current Broadway cast and former cast members of the Tony Award-winning Best Musical. Original stars, Billy Porter ('Lola'), Annaleigh Ashford ('Lauren') and Stark Sands ('Charlie').

Broadway Sessions was thrilled to welcome Sheri Sanders' and friends on March 31 to celebrate the launch of RockthePerformance.com. Sanders, the world's premiere rock music coach, took a break from her demanding teaching schedule to party Broadway Sessions-style with some of her pals and students. After a killer opening number, Sanders invited students, turned Broadway stalwarts, Joey Taranto (Rock of Ages, Spider-Man, Kinky Boots), Hernando Umana (Kinky Boots) and Courtney Bassett (upcoming Natasha, Pierre...) to the stage to show the excited room just how it's done- Rock the Performance-style. Sessions also welcomed 'Rising Stars' Gaby Hornig, Sean Green and Toni Thompson. Check out these rocking performances below.

BROADWAY SESSIONS is described as an evening of musical performances, games and open mic featuring a new Broadway guest each week. The show is created and hosted by Ben Cameron (Bway Wicked, Aida and Footloose) and features musical director Joshua Stephen Kartes on piano. This Thursday, March 31st, Broadway Sessions will celebrate the launch of Sheri Sanders' Rock the Performance with a night of music, live coaching, games and more.

Cast members from Les Miserables headed over to Broadway Sessions at the 'End of the Day', Thursday, March 24th. Before the cast took the stage, audience members got to channel their inner revolutionaries with an ALL LES MIZ open mic pre show. After which Julian R. Decker started the night off right with a stirring rendition of 'Memphis Lives in Me.' Matt Rosell and Melissa Mitchell dueted 'All The Wasted Time' from Parade before being egg'ed into an impromptu 'Tonight' from West Side Story. Joshua Morgan and Beth Kirkpatrick bared their souls in 20 questions and diving into their 'Where were you when Broadway called?' stories while Andrew Love brought the country, nailing Garth Brook's 'Baton Rouge' AND 'Friends in Low Places,' alongside host/country music fan Ben Cameron. Wardrobe staffer, Maggie Glass, delighted the audience with a duet of 'The Prayer' with cast member J. Michael Finley. The evening ended with gorge performance by up and comers Jennifer Brady (14 years old no less) and Mary Grace McGiveny. And what night at Broadway Sessions would be complete without a 'Shloppy' Plot Shynopsis' wherein the Les Miz cast members attempted to narrate the show's plot in under 3 minutes will downing shots... you know, sophisticated.

Squeals of delight and blood-curdling screams of fright fill the Allen Theatre as Cleveland Play House's (CPH) Centennial Season continues with a humorous and heartfelt production of LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS. CPH's production brings this dark storyline to life with loads of gleefully twisted comedy and head-bopping doo-wop on the Allen Theatre stage now through Feb. 7. The theatre company just tweeted a first listen to original KINKY BOOTS cast member Joey Taranto performing 'Dentist!' - check it out below!

Squeals of delight and blood-curdling screams of fright fill Cleveland Play House's Allen Theatre, and that's partially due to Joey Taranto. The Centennial Season continues with a humorous and heartfelt production of LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS (now through February 7), led by Ari Butler (Seymour), Lauren Molina (Audrey), and Taranto as the dentist with a mean-streak, Orin, as well as other various roles.

How does the musical black comedy LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS fit into the Cleveland Play House's 100th anniversary theme of paying homage to their history? To find the answer requires going back to May, 1916, when the theatre staged THE DEATH OF TINTAGILES. The avant-garde play starred marionettes created by Helen Haiman Joseph, who created The Puppet Players Theatre at CPH in the mid-1920s.

Squeals of delight and blood-curdling screams of fright will fill the Allen Theatre as Cleveland Play House's (CPH) Centennial Season continues with a humorous and heartfelt production of LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS. CPH's production brings this dark storyline to life with loads of gleefully twisted comedy and head-bopping doo-wop on the Allen Theatre stage now through Feb. 7. Opening night is tonight, January 15, 2016.

Just in!  A BroadwayWorld Exclusive!  We have a first look at Cleveland Play House's (CPH)humorous and heartfelt production of Little Shop of Horrors. Hearkening back to its very first productions in 1915 that featured sophisticated marionettes, CPH is bringing the cheeky and blood-thirsty plant Audrey II to life in a production that will be every vocal coach's dream - and every hemophobic's worst nightmare!  Check out the cast in action below!

Squeals of delight and blood-curdling screams of fright will fill the Allen Theatre as Cleveland Play House's (CPH) Centennial Season continues with a humorous and heartfelt production of Little Shop of Horrors. Hearkening back to its very first productions in 1915 that featured sophisticated marionettes, CPH is bringing the cheeky and blood-thirsty plant Audrey II to life in a production that will be every vocal coach's dream - and every hemophobic's worst nightmare!

Squeals of delight and blood-curdling screams of fright will fill the Allen Theatre as Cleveland Play House's (CPH) Centennial Season continues with a humorous and heartfelt production of Little Shop of Horrors. Hearkening back to its very first productions in 1915 that featured sophisticated marionettes, CPH is bringing the cheeky and blood-thirsty plant Audrey II to life in a production that will be every vocal coach's dream - and every hemophobic's worst nightmare!

Just yesterday, Tony Award-winner Billy Porter joined hundreds of hopefuls outside of the Hirschfeld Theatre in their most fabulous red footwear to celebrate the show's 1000th performance. To pay homage to the show's now-iconic red boots, the first 50 people in line at the Hirschfeld Theatre (302 West 45th St) wearing red shoes received a free pair of tickets, plus the three most fabulous pairs of footwear, and winners (as chosen by Porter) got to join the cast backstage after the evening performance. Later that night the cast gathered on stage to celebrate with a toast and custom Kinky Boots cupcakes provided by Baked by Melissa. BroadwayWorld brings you photos from the whole day below!

The Tony Award-winning musical KINKY BOOTS will celebrate its landmark 1,000th performance on Broadway tonight, August 26th, with a ticket giveaway and 'fabulous footwear' contest for fans.

Producers Daryl Roth and Hal Luftig announced today that the Tony Award-winning musical Kinky Boots will celebrate its landmark 1000th performance on Broadway on Wednesday, August 26th with a ticket giveaway and "fabulous footwear" contest for fans.

Last month, twenty of the brightest talents on Broadway were featured in Broadway Sings Bruno Mars, the latest concert in the Broadway Sings series. The tribute series takes the music of well-known music icons and creates new, unique arrangements and orchestrations by twisting the style to fit the strength of the performer. Previous concerts have included Adele, Stevie Wonder, and Justin Timberlake; this November, producer Corey Mach (Godspell, Wicked) and music director Joshua Stephen Kartes will present Broadway Sings Sara Bareilles.?

BroadwayWorld has confirmed that Emmy Award-winner and Grammy Award nominee Wayne Brady will take over the coveted role of 'Lola' in the Tony Award®-winning musical Kinky Boots at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre (302 West 45th Street) on November 21, 2015. Brady will succeed Broadway's original (and current) award-winning 'Lola,' Billy Porter. Porter has played over 800 performances in the role and won both a Tony Award and a Grammy Award for his work in the production. His final historic performance in Kinky Boots will be November 20, 2015.